By Arthur Rabjohn, CEM, President, IAEM Europa and R3 Manager Europe, WorleyParsons

(Editor's note: A shorter version of this article appeared previously in the International Association of Emergency Managers Bulletin.)

Last November, I was fortunate enough to be allowed to tag along on a training course in Switzerland being run by the International Civil Defence Organisation for a class of students from Arab and North African member states. The course included a visit to a civil defence facility in the city of Geneva to see how Switzerland is maintaining its Cold War–era level of preparedness.

Bunk and store system in use during military training exercise.

Swiss civil defence began in 1934, when the "Passive Defence Troops" were organized. The modern era began in 1959, when the voters approved a civil defence article in the Swiss constitution, and the parliament in 1962 passed a federal law requiring compulsory civil defence service from every healthy male aged 20 to 60 not drafted into the military and allowing women over 16 to volunteer. Registration began in 1965, at about the same time that a federal law started an ambitious shelter-building program and set up a Federal Office of Civil Protection.

In 1966 the Department of Justice and Police convened a Committee for Civil Defence to establish whether the Swiss civil defence programme adequately addressed the rapidly evolving threats of modern warfare. In 1971 that committee released a report titled "Conception of the Swiss Civil Defence," which emphasized protecting the public by sheltering in place. Because relocation was not considered an option, authorities committed resources to providing the whole population with (very expensive) blast and fallout shelters, the cost of which consumed most of the Swiss civil-defence budget.

As a result, in the 1980s Switzerland spent vastly more per capita on civil defence than other nations, including the United States and the Soviet Union.

Shelter interior sealing doors

Bunk system allows for storage level between top and bottom beds

Store rooms were fully stocked, and equipment appeared to be in full readiness in the two operating rooms, which were equipped with air-curtain barriers around the operating tables. It wasn't state-of-the-art by a long way, but it was fully functional and capable of doing the job.

It was, however, pointed out that some doctors had declined to be included on the call-up list, as they were not prepared to work with the older equipment and had concerns that unfamiliarity with it could lead to errors that they then might be held to account for.

The facility had sufficient food, water and fuel to enable it to lock down for 15 days without resupply, but could extend that to 20 days with a greater degree of rationing.

Built in the mid 1960s, it had cost in the region of 6 million Swiss francs as part of the school's construction. It was, however, explained that had they had to later build the shelter on its own, the cost would have been closer to 10 million Swiss francs.

Building such facilities into the foundations of public buildings at their construction stage is far easier than trying to build them individually. Each such site is tested through an exercise twice a year that gives local civil defence staff and volunteers familiarity with the site.

The federal government requires the cantons (individual states) to maintain their preparedness, and if their local population goes above their shelter capacity, to build new capacity as part of public building projects.

An ongoing commitment
The question "When they were last used?" brought a fascinating answer. During the Balkans crisis, 2,000 refugees from Kosovo were accommodated for 36 months in the shelters. For mass audience music and sports events, the shelters are used to provide cheaper sleeping accommodation for visitors, who for around US$16 a night can have a bed and wash facilities between 2200 and 0900.

The command room was still equipped with hard-wire telecommunications that are resistant to electromagnetic pulse (EMP), but apparently are due for an upgrade this year. Of course, the old hard-wire system will be maintained as a redundant backup to the newer system, which will not have EMP protection, as it is thought an unnecessary requirement in the current risk/threat analysis.

As many such facilities fall into disrepair around the world, it was impressive to see the commitment that the Swiss government has made to protecting its population. The largest threat on the horizon at present is an influenza pandemic, and my thoughts as I left were, "What would I give as a city emergency manager to have such a resource should that threat become reality?"

And the national programme continues. As recently as 2002, the Swiss Federal Council enacted the new "Federal Law on Civil Protection and Support" (BZG), which the federal parliament subsequently passed in October that year. A citizens' initiative request, making use of their statutory right, resulted in a referendum in May 2003 on the BZG in which 80.6% of the Swiss population voted in favour of the new law. The law commits to compulsory training for "protection and support duty" of all men of Swiss nationality between the ages of 20 and 40 who are fit for protection and support service (except military or civilian conscripts).

Women can volunteer beginning at age 20. Basic training involves at least two or three weeks in certain functions, and refresher courses every year. In the event of an emergency, the protection and support conscripts can be activated to carry out their trained roles and provide a body of personnel to support the civil protection structure's activities and resources.

About the author

A former officer with the London Metropolitan Police, Arthur Rabjohn is R3 (Ready, Response, Recovery) Systems Manager Europe for WorleyParsons, a consulting and engineering firm serving the energy, resource and complex process industries. He is also a Certified Emergency Manager and president of the Europa division of the International Association of Emergency Managers.